Karaoke Forums

I have been reading the threads thru searches and normal browsing and it seems to me that JVC and Mackis are giving up on CDG players for the new Super CDG format. For those of us that want to continue to go with the CDG format what is the frontrunner for reliability/performance?  
I feel its like the old Beta/VHS format, the cheaper companies/countries start throwing plastic drive mechanisms in them to cut costs and undercut the better brands. The plastic drive mechanisms are much less reliable than the metal. Now JVC/Mackie have shifted to production of Super CDG's and leaving the CDG format for the less reliable manufactures.

Thoughts and reccomendations are very much appreciated...
Thank you,


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                                                                      bigjim56

Hi  :wave:

We have discussed this before a couple times because it is a problem. The new Neos and super CDG players are poop. The best route to take at this time is by vintage players. You can find some of the old models refurbished by reputable karaoke dealers and if your luckky you can snag one on e-bay for a good price.

Some good vintage players are: Pioneer PD V10G and RSQ MV 333 triple tray

The Pioneer is almost impossible to find, but the RSQ you can still find on e-bay and sometimes Acekaroake has refurbished ones.

RSQ ebay

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Side note - Don't be fooled by some of these new players just because they play CDG too. They are slow to load and have a lot of mechanical problems. RSQ NEOs have a bad rep for this.

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Babs is a good goto person for many of your questions, Jim. I think she also has every sound choice cd ever made. Ask her what's the most you should pay for that jvc....I think it's worth pursuing. I've seen rental units of that one, banged up pretty bad from misuse, but they still played like a champ......jj

I would say Lonman, Knightshow, Liquidye, Allstar, T-towner,Robdog, Keith etc... are good sources to go too. The tech guys are awesome! I pale in comparison.

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[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

You spend too much time at work or doing gigs Babs.  Need to spend more time outdoors!

BTW, Mackie never had a cdg player, they just make great PA gear.

It was JVC that was in karaoke they made their own players, then they also licensed those 2 players only over to RSQ with the RSQ name plate - although they were still made by JVC.  JVC quit making the players when the license agreement was up with RSQ.

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So RSQ is making the players under the JVC training/switchover. The quality and reliability must have suffered if people are still hunting for the older units, and the older ones are preferred over the newer ones.

JVC doesn't make SuperCDG players now, they left this market?

This is a dilemna...SuperCDG players are poop, but thats the way the market is going. The better CDG players are the older JVC JVCRSQ models but their getting harder and harder to find.

I was leaning toward the SuperCDG because even though their players cost more, the CD's are less costly. EG. Super CDG Essential 450 vol. 1/2/4 are $100/$98 each on ebay (new/reputable dealer) - versus CDG Essential 450 vol. 3/5/6 are $198 each. The $300 savings in the 3 volumes of SuperCDG versus CDG offsets the higher cost of the player.
The Super CDG's are a benefit also because of the volume they handle, one disk for 450 songs versus 30 disks for 450 songs on CDG. But then also comes the need for a back up player $$$. Maybe the reason SuperCDG players are bad is because of the compressed volume and the inability of the less than heroic manufactures to master this. Just a guess.

Did a search and the VOCOpro name comes up a lot...I understand their Karaoke machines are bad, but does that apply to their CDG machines as well? The Vocopro 8000 ($600) has a decent rating on Musiciansfreind but its only with 2 reviews.

Does a Notebook PC contain the capability to read CDG? Is special software needed or conversion of files necessary? I have 2 notebooks available. Can use one while other is being loaded etc.  

Thanks again for inputs...

                             bigjim56

Went to delete to edit...no delete.

But you are the cutest one in the batch of names.

When JVC stopped, that's when I went computerized.

JVC is out of the game completely.  RSQ makes their own players now - according to their CS staff anyway.  VocoPro machines are overpriced.  As far as other players, i've played with a few newer ones, not impressed.  I'm with Allstar, go digital!

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Thanks BABS/Allstar/Johnny Echo/Lonman

What is the least expensive way to go digital? There is room for a computer system, and I'm good with computers...not so good with converting programs etc. What is a good computer system to get me going...with a back up drive. Will still need music so funds are being watched closely. Will a computerized system require SuperCDG or CDG?  


Thanks for inputs...

                                                             bigjim56

If you scratch a regular karaoke disc you will lose a few songs.  


If you scratch a super cdg you will lose a hundred songs.

Your music will still come from your legally purchased cdg's.
For your computer:
You'll need a video card that will support dual display, you'll want a decent soundcard, you'll need a cd drive that will read the cdg subcode - most Plextors work well, but there are others that seem to work equally well.  The more RAM the better & a good sized - 200-300 gb hard drive for future (external is fine).  Faster the processor the better, but some programs will work fine with slower machines  There are several ripping programs that are easy to use.  Others will be able to help in that department.  I prefer MTU Hoster, it does everything I want - but yes it does cost.  Yes it rips the discs into a proprietary format, but I don't plan on using my files on anything other than my show computer with that program so it don't matter to me.  Other prefer the flexibility of the mp3+g file that can be used on anything.

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Vey true and agreed. That's why I still have my JVC, the difference is now it's not in a bar environment, but I baby it in my studio. God forbid anything happening to it

And if you loose a HDD without a backup you will cry for 40 days and 40 nights  LMAO

For backing up your hard drives I recommend Acronis True Image http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/pr ... trueimage/. TI will do regular file backups or images of entire disks. What's cool and unique is you can browse and extract files even if they were imaged. It allows you access via network or external drive also.

I use TI in conjunction with BartPE as a recovery environment. With BartPE you can put TI on a cd and recover or backup anything just from booting off a cd. BartPE is very powerful and allows you to access your computer and files when Windows is dead. http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

Bill

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Wow...I'm in over my head! I think because of the fact that I'll still be buying the CDG music that I'll stick with that method for now, with an eye for a switch to the digital side at a later date. Plus I'm a rookie at this for now, no need to start swinging for the walls just yet. Thanks for the input. I'll print out a hard copy and put it in my Karaoke folder for future reference. I have 2 notebooks, my work notebook is a Dell Inspiron 4150 and my wifes Bar business is a Compaq. I have no idea of the sound or video card capabilities. My Dell is 3-4 years old, while her Compaq is less than a year old. Not enough $$ to purchase a specific PC for Karaoke. Nice thought though.

So, anyone with reccomendations for good AVAILABLE CDG players. I'll scour sites/stores for older JVC models and get an economical backup.

Thanks again for the inputs.

                                                                            bigjim56

You DON'T need a expensive computer to run karaoke.  If I was starting out again, I would build a rack mount system, instead of a laptop.  Any computer that you can get to run winamp, you can use a a karaoke machine.  Most laptops made now a days, alread support dual montiors, and you can add a cheap video card to a desktop to get dual display.

scour EBAY for jvc or rsq333 , 222 even a 505 models